eChicago 2009: Cybernavigating our Cultures

eChicago 2009
Cybernavigating our Cultures

6:30-8:30 pm on Thursday, April 2
8:30-5.00 pm on Friday, April 3
Dominican University
7900 West Division Street
River Forest, Illinois 60305
http://www.echicago.illinois.edu

The Third Annual eChicago gathering is a practice/policy/research symposium sponsored
by the two library and information science schools in the state of Illinois. Co-chairs are
Chris Hagar, Dominican University and Kate Williams, University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, and the Skokie Public Library. The symposium is hosted with funding from
both schools, and parallels a research project of the same name funded by the Institute of
Museum and Library Services. Every year at Chicago, practitioners, policymakers and
researchers exchange ideas and find better ways to work together. This year we will be
asking the questions:

  • How are Chicago's neighborhoods bridging the digital divide?
  • How are Chicago's ethnic communities represented in cyberspace?
  • What is a strategic plan for cyberdemocracy in Chicago? In the US? In the world?

Also this year, we convene with the backdrop of a new presidential administration that is
rooted in Illinois, with a new technology platform. And we are living in a more troubled
economy, which puts the use of digital resources in an even brighter spotlight as a tool
for democratic inclusion. This is expressed in notably higher use of library facilities
across Chicagoland. This is also clearly acknowledged in Congress's stimulus bill, as it
allocates more than $7 billion to broadband internet deployment, public computing, and
innovative uses of technology in local communities. Our program highlights the steps
Chicago has already taken in this direction, and what might be next steps.